A Wasted Life
by navycorpsman
Summary: Corporals Arlie Shue and Allan Shaver are on their second Tour of Duty in Iraq. Only, this TOD ends in tragedy. How will Arlie deal with the suicide of her best friend, her fellow Soldier and medic, and her lover?
1. Welcome To Hell On Earth

A blast of hot air smacked me in the face as I headed off the plane. Six months earlier, we had once again said goodbye to our families and headed off to Fort Hood for training. But, as we headed off to the "Welcome to Hell" briefing, I knew that this wasn't going to be like training.

A quick roll call and the briefing began. Despite the useful information, which included topics on camel spiders and scorpions, my mind began to wander and I wondered why I was even here. _D'OH!_ I thought _I'm here because Soldier gets shot; Soldier needs Medic to take care of him._

If anyone to ask me how long the briefing lasted, I would have joked that it lasted my entire TOD in Iraq, but the truth is it was about two hours.

One of my fellow Combat Medics smiled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Allan Shaver was a good guy, despite the cynicism. He was, like me, a Corporal, but with his attitude, he was often looked at as being a Sergeant First Class. He felt that the Army really lacked good leadership. "But, hell if I could do better." He'd say. But, no matter how cynical Allan Shaver got, there was no other Medic you wanted around. He knew his job and he did it well.

Both of us sighed heavy as we made our way to Camp Middle of Nowhere. When we arrived, it was obvious that we were in a war zone and the Camp was a favorite target. There were holes in the ground from where mortars hit. Up ahead, the hospital tent was buzzing with activity.

But, this was nothing new to me or Corporal Shaver. This was our second tour in Iraq. "Shit." He sighed. "At least the Army gave us a full goddamned month to get our heads cleared before shipping us back to this shithole." His cynical nature shone at its brightest.

I hopped out of the Humvee. "Are you saying, Shaver, that you're really ready for what we know is ahead?"

"Arlie, it don't matter if I think I'm ready or not. The Army says I am." He smiled as he turned into the males' tent.

I made my way to the ladies' tent and put my stuff on an empty cot. Tired and exhausted from jet lag, I wanted to simply lie down and catch some "ZZZ's", but the sirens warning of incoming mortar rounds kept me from my appointment with my cot.

Sirens blared loudly as I quickly put my Kevlar and flak jacket on. I could see Allan running to the hospital tent and I followed. One young medic, on his first tour in a war zone, nearly froze. Shaver practically scooped the kid up and continued running. Like most mortars, there were few injuries, but the two that we did see were severe.

Without hesitation, Shaver and I jumped right into help. "Shue, I need a clamp!" he yelled. I handed him a clamp and we rushed him into the tent. I looked at Shaver, who wiped some blood off his vest. "That was too young a kid to be here."

"Yeah." Both of us wanted to rest, but couldn't. This kid had shrapnel in his arm and this kid had a twisted ankle from running. As often as I could, I stole a glance Shaver's way. Despite his completely cynical nature to war, he was amazingly calm and kept his bedside manner.

If truth was told, I had a little crush on my fellow medic. There was something about him that I really enjoyed being around. His cynical nature sometimes tied in perfectly with humor and, despite the often morbid humor he displayed, he could be as funny as he was blunt.

With the injured now under control, Shaver and I headed off to the mess tent to enjoy the fine fine Army chow, which, if you could call Army chow fine, this was. The menu was pot roast, which Shaver lovingly called 'Iraqi special', with mashed potatoes and green beans and a small piece of chocolate cake, which looked like it had seen better days. Shaver, in his usual cynical mood, twirled that cake on his tray. "I think we could win this thing if we feed just this piece of shit to the Iraqi people."

I smiled. I hit my piece with my fork and nearly burst in laughter as it seemed to echo a huge thud. "Kind of reminds me of grade school."

Shaver bust out laughing. "Yeah, it does. I mean, they want us to eat healthy here, but they offer us asphalt for dessert. The Army needs some new ways of dealing with this whole be all you can be campaign."

I smirked. "That campaign was years ago. Now it's 'An Army of One'."

"Keep feeding this shit to the Army and it _WILL_ be an Army of one." He laughed. Allan's laugh was always from his heart. He never laughed unless there was something to laugh about. It was never loud. It was always soft and contagious. It never took long for people to join in when Shaver started laughing and this was no exception.

"It's pretty bad, ain't it?" An older Solider to Shaver's left pointed out. "I've been in the Army for 13 fucking years and I think this is the same cake they gave us at Basic." He never cracked a smile; he only grinned. He looked up and excused himself.

Shaver just looked at me. "You think he's right? Has this cake been around 13 years?" He leaned closer and whispered as though he'd get in trouble for asking.

"Nah. Not for 13 years." I smiled back. If he had a reply, I certainly didn't hear it for I was too busy looking into his hazel eyes, trying to see if he really had a soul.

"Arlie? You there, girl?" Shaver waved his hand in front of my face.

I snapped out of my little fantasy about him and sat straight up. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Where you fantasizing about me again?" He smirked. Allan knew about my little crush on him. I never knew he did, but he knew. "Let me see if I can pin point this one. You need rescue breathing and..."

"Shut up, Shaver." I threw a green bean at him.

"Oh you know you love me." He tossed it back.

"I just have a crush. That's far from love, sweetie." I smirked at him. The relationship between Allan Shaver and I started in Fort Sam Houston, where we went to AIT School for medic. We bonded quicker than anyone else in our class and somehow, our orders had kept us in the same unit and we deployed. Most people thought there was more to our relationship than there really was because at Fort Riley, Shaver was my roommate.

He blew a kiss at me. "You know if you could fuck me, you would." He winked sarcastically.

"Would I?" I looked at the Soldier who had been sitting next to Shaver and nodded my head in his direction. "I think I'd fuck him before I fucked you, Shaver." I laughed.

"Ouch. Why don't you take your knife back?" He handed me an imaginary knife. He looked outside the tent and saw a Humvee drive up. "Well, what do you say we get back to work?"

I followed him out off the mess tent. "Hey, Shaver!"

He looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Nice ass!"


	2. One Cynic To Another

He gave it a little wiggle. "You like?" He laughed.

I ran up and gave it a quick pinch. "Yeah. I've always had a thing for assholes." I jumped out of the way of his playful swipe. I looked back at him and blew him a kiss. "But, then again, that's what I love so much about you."

"What? That I'm a cynical no good asshole?"

"Nope." I stopped and crossed my arms. "You've got a nice ass."

* * *

The first week seemed to go by with little incident. I sat in the lounge tent, watching CNN and the coverage of the war and was a little amazed at what they were selling. The war, from where I was sitting, wasn't what the news was saying. I huffed and turned the T.V. off and started to head back to my tent.

"Shue!" I heard Shaver yell.

"Now what?" I playfully sighed.

He put his arm around my shoulder and handed me a bottled water. "I got the good shit." He grinned. "What do you say we go talk about what happened today?"

I shrugged as I took the bottle. "There's not much to talk about, Al. It happens. We've been through this before and we'll be through it again and we trained for it. No amount of talking can ever help, really."

Shaver laughed louder than I ever heard him laugh before. "Shit! If you ain't sounding like me now!" He kissed my cheek. "It may help more than you know. You know, one cynic talking to another." We found a quiet place to sit. "The stars are nice. You never see them anymore, you know."

I stared at him. "Just when I think you're nothing more than a soulless cynic, you say something like that." I smiled.

He coyly smiled back and leaned into me. "Just goes to show how little you know about me despite how much you know about me."

He gently nudged me. There was something about his smile that drew me to him. It was funny how, after 5 years of knowing each other, I was beginning to see him differently. We all knew of my little crush on him, but as I studied his face in the soft moonlight, I wondered if he was right. "What are you thinking, LiLi?" His voice softened.

"You." I replied in a hushed voice.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I mean, what would life be like without you? I've known you for 5 years and yet, it seems like longer. You're my best friend, Allan. I think you know more about me than I do about myself. I just wondered how my life would be if you weren't in it at all."

He softly smiled at me. "You'd be a better person, for sure, without my cynical ass hanging around."

"I'm serious, Allan." I protested.

"As am I." He didn't move as I put my head on his shoulder. "You've always been the one who's seen the best in people and what life has to offer. By all rights, we shouldn't be getting along, much less falling in love with..." he suddenly stopped. "I mean, we shouldn't be best friends."

I played like I didn't hear the 'falling in love' part as I knew how he'd respond, so I simply nodded. "I know. So, that's why I was wondering what my life would be without you." I looked up at him. He was staring at the stars and the moon emphasized the strong jaw line that seemed to stick out, as though he were thinking. "About that boy today."

"Yeah. He was too young." Allan never stopped staring at the stars.

"18 years old. His whole life ahead of him and where's he now? Waiting to be sent home to Dover so his family can bury him." I wiped a couple tears.

"Do our leaders even realise the cost of all this?" he placed his head on mine. "I mean, they sit in their cushy offices, getting blow jobs, while the rest of us are out here, busting our asses for them and for what? So they can get cheaper oil?"

"I'm proud to be in the Army, Allan. I'm glad I get to do what I do."

"You could do this as a civilian. You don't have to be a Soldier." He tilted his head to the left and tried to look me in the eyes. "Why'd you join the Army?"

I sat up and sat across his lap. "I always wanted to be one. Why did you?"

He shrugged as he wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me close to him. "I don't really know. I thought it would help me in medical school." He looked up at me and abruptly stood up.

"As you were." The scruff Soldier from the mess tent walked by. He had a small grin on his face and Allan looked like the cat who got caught with his paw in the birdcage.

Allan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Damn. That was close."

I crossed my arms. "Close?"

He looked at me. "For five years, you've had this pronounced effect on me and that was the as perfect moment as any to..." He stopped again.

"Dammit, Allan. Why do you do that?" I stomped my foot, a sign I was frustrated.

"Do what?"

"Start to say something and stop. What were you going to say?"

"You really want to know?"

I nodded furiously. "Yes!"

"Fine." Without warning, he pulled me close and kissed me. "That's what I was going to say." His face and voice were soft and I stood there, watching him as he walked off.

My daydream of life with Allan in any sort of manner outside of the Army was shattered by yells from the hospital tent. Allan and I upped our pace and ran out to help. Shaver was noted for saying "A medic never sleeps." and this was proving true.

We worked furiously on a young man who'd been hit by an IED. As we worked to save his life, we realised that his leg would have to be sacrificed. The doctor coordinated with Allan and they began the long process of amputating the young man's leg. The young man seemed acutely aware of what was going on around him.

I was called away to another Soldier coming in, but as I soothed him, I could only think of that young man who was losing his leg. "So, what happened, Soldier?"

"We were ambushed, Ma'am."

"I'm a Corporal, so no need to call me ma'am." I smiled.

"Sorry. Just a Southern thing, I guess." He smiled back. "I'm from Georgia. Savannah. Ever hear of it?"

"Yeah. My parents honeymooned there. When Dad retired from the railroad, he swore he and Mom would move there."

"From where?"

"Londonderry, New Hampshire."

"Did they?"

"Dad's not retired yet. Two more years and they'll be ready to go. I think they found a really nice house just on the outskirts of Savannah."

"Be a nice change of weather for them." He held still as I continued to stitch his forehead. "Can't say I know for certain what the weather's like in New Hampshire, but I can assume it's cold?"

I laughed. "Yeah. It's fairly cold."

"You miss it?"

"Kind of. But, I've been in the Army for so long now, that I've forgotten how to be homesick." I finished his stitches. "There you go, Soldier. Good to go."

"Thanks, Corporal. I hope to see you again soon, only without need for stitches." He smiled. "Name's Captain Dave Mitchell."

"Corporal Arlie Shue, Sir." I shook his hand.

"That's an unusual name." He noted.

"Yes, Sir. Most people think it's short for Arlene, but it's not. It's just Arlie. It was my great grandmother's name, Sir." While I wasn't embarrassed by my name, I couldn't say that I was totally unembarrassed by it. Growing up, I was picked fun of for my unusual name.

"Well, I think it's pretty." One more quick smile and he left.

"So, flirting with the head honchos, eh?" Allan's voice made me jump.

"I feel bad."

"Why?"

"Until he said he was a Captain, I didn't notice." I sighed as Captain Mitchell came back in. "Sir?"

"Corporal, I know you didn't realise my rank, which is fine, but just be more careful to not let your perfect bedside manner get in the way of noticing rank." He smiled.


	3. Meet Captain Baron

I looked at Allan, who was rather unsuccessfully hiding a smirk. I knew I'd never live it down from him. After all, I was the one who paid attention to ranks and details. I crossed my arms. "Go ahead, Lan. Say it."

He burst out laughing. "Let's assume that was Captain Asshole. Think he'd be nice?"

Captain Asshole was Captian Steven Lombardi. A hard-nosed Italian who wanted things done his way, not caring what the Army said. None of us like him much and knew that he was going home in a couple months. "Good point. Say, when's he due to leave and do we know who the new CO is going to be?"

"I think he's got a few weeks left and I've not heard about..." He stopped and sighed. "Here we go again." He looked at me. "You got the minors?"

"Per ususal." I got the small cube ready. A tall Solider saundered in. "Sir." I nodded, recognizing him as a Captain.

"It's nothing, Corporal. Just a scratch, but my men think I need it checked out." He held out his arm.

"You listen to your men, Sir?" I put on my gloves and reached for some antiseptic.

"I do. Seems to me the ones that are out there doing this shit know a little more than someone like me who sits behind a desk. Even if that desk is in a war zone." He winced a little.

"Sorry, Sir."

"Not a problem." He smiled and, like Captain Mitchell, he was nice and easy on the eyes. "I'm Captain Jonathan Baron. I'll be the new CO when Captain Lombardi leaves."

"Corporal Shue, Sir. I think this camp will be glad to have such an easy going Captain, Sir, as you appear to be."

"I know what this camp thinks of Captain Lombardi." His blue eyes seemed to peer into my soul. "I must confess, I think his nickname suits him perfectly."

"Yes, Sir." I put a band aid on. "You're good to go, Sir."

"Thanks." He stood up and without warning, fell hard to the deck.

I yelled for help. As help was running down the small hall, I checked his pupils. "SHIT!" I yelled.

Allan helped me place the new Captain on the gurney. "What happened?"

"He had a scratch and suddenly, he falls. I have no clue other than that." I checked his other vitals. "BP's 114 over 70. Pulse is 80 and breathing is WNL." I ran my pen light over his eyes. "Shit, Shaver."

"What?"

"Pupils are slow and unequally reactive to light." I removed the Kevlar from the Captain's head. "We're going to need a CT."

"What do we have here, Corporal?" Lieutenant Malley stood by my side.

"Possible concussion, Sir. I think we need a CT."

"And why would you say that?"

"Sir, this is our new Commanding Officer when Captain Lombardi leaves."

Lt. Malley looked a quick second at me. "Let's move it! We need a CT for this patient."

After they wheeled the Captain away, I fell hard into the chair, tears welling up. Shaver patted my knee. "He came in for a scratch. How are you going to know to look for signs of a concussion?" I gave him a hug. Despite his attitude, Allan Shaver knew what to say and when it was needed. I didn't want to let him go. I just wanted to stay there, in his arms, forever.

* * *

I was making my rounds when I checked in on Captain Baron. "Glad to see you're awake, Sir."

"What happened?" He looked at me, a perplexed look on his face.

"Concussion." I sat on the stool next to his bed. "Sir, when it comes to scratches like what you have, I rarely ask questions. I mean, Sir, if I had to explain where I got every scratch from, I would be writing a novel, but now I have to ask. Sir, how did you scratch your arm?"

He laid his head back and looked to the top of the tent, as though it had the answer. "We were just goofing off, playing volleyball."

"Sir?"

He sat up and looked at me. "I remember just slamming on Sergeant Silas and in my silly way of celebrating, I guess I lost my footing somehow and hit the net posts."

"That wouldn't explain the head injury."

"That's because he's not telling you he hit the ground hard." A stong deep voice said behind me. He stuck his hand to me. "Staff Sergeant Chris Silas."

"Corporal Arlie Shue." I shook his hand.

"Ah, yes. The one complaining about the cake." He smiled.

"Uh, yeah." I looked at the Sergeant. "How hard did he hit his head?"

"I had a headache." Baron smiled "But I just thought it was Scream here."

"Yes, Sir. That's me. Your own personal headache. Anytime you need a headache, Sir." Sergeant Silas joked back. "He didn't say anything?"

"No. He complained only of a scratch." I looked at him. "Sir, you may be the Captain here, but I'm going to keep my eye on you. You so much as sneeze, Sir, and I'll be there with an antihistamine." I smiled.

The Captain smiled at me. "Sounds like a plan."

"I've got other rounds to make, Sir, but you should be out of here soon." I stood up.

"Why do you keep them overnight?" Silas asked.

"Precautionary. Symptoms of a concussion wear off after approxamately 24 hours. If it was worse, we'd be able to tell during the night."

"Is that also why you didn't let me sleep for more than an hour?" The handsome Captain smiled.

"No, Sir. We didn't let you sleep for more than an hour because, as our new CO, we were counting on you to help us with what to do when the mortars go off." I smiled back.

"Sass and lots of it." Baron laughed. "Corporal, I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

"I hope so, Sir." I grinned.

"But, the truth. Why didn't I get more than an hour's sleep at any given time?"

"This is the Army, Sir, where sleep is distributed." I started to laugh, but saw the Captain wasn't. "Sir, we had to wake you up every hour to ensure we weren't losing you. To make sure, Sir, your concussion was just that: A concussion and there wasn't more. That's why we woke you up every hour, Sir."

"Fine. Now, go to the distribution tent and get me some sleep, Corporal." He grinned.

I smiled broadly. "On my way now, Sir."

I nearly screamed as Shaver grabbed me from behind. I playfully slapped him. "Don't ever do that again, Shaver. Got it?"

He smiled. "As always. How much shit did you get into from Captain Baron?"

"None. He wasn't ready for joking, but he didn't exactly snap at me." I put my arm in his. "That Sergeant from last night..."

"The one about the cake?"

"Yeah. That's Staff Sergeant Chris Silas."

"And I should care why?"

"Al, he outranks us. He's E-6 and we're E-4s." I sighed. "Besides, I don't think we're done with Sergeant Silas."

"Do we call him Sexy Sergeant?" Allan batted his eyes. "I mean, he was rather striking and..."

"Stop it!" I laugh. As we turned the corner, another young Soldier was wheeled in. "What's this?" I grabbed the end of the gurney and help position it.

"IED. Kid looks like he's lost a lot of blood." The medic looked at me. "Good luck saving this one."

I looked down at the young man, who was more dead than alive. I checked his vitals. There was nothing. I looked over at Lieutenant Givens. "No pulse, Ma'am. There's nothing."

She sighed. "Call it Corporal."

"Time of death 1034." I wanted to rest, but the IED had done a number on an Humvee and we got more casualites from it. After spending the next few hours taking care of them, I was relieved to take a small break. I made my way to the back of the tent. Away from as much of the light as I could. I hated this place. I hated every part of it. Everything except Shaver's presence. I knew I couldn't handle this without him.

"You okay?" I heard Shaver's voice softer than it had ever been.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't...For some reason, this go round is bothering me even more, Al."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I know. Maybe it's because it's the same shit. Who knows? But, think of it this way. We have our year here and then we can go home and get on with our lives."

"But where are our lives taking us, Al?" I intertwined my fingers in his and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"Right now, I'm going to take a shit and then decide what to do next." I laughed at his bluntness. "Laugh if you must, LiLi, but that's the only way to know for sure. One step at a time." He kissed my cheek and left.


	4. Promise?

I couldn't help but smile. Allan had that way about him. He could make a lot of sense while talking complete bullshit. I remembered his words from the night before. A part of me couldn't believe he would fall in love with me. But he had said it. I knew how I felt. I finally admitted it was a little more than a crush, but love? I wasn't so sure.

"I'll give you exactly one penny for your thoughts, Corporal."

I jumped at the sound of the voice and looked to my right. Chewing on a toothpick was Staff Sergeant Silas. I tilted my head and softly laughed, while biting my lower lip. "Sorry, Sarge. My thoughts ain't cheap."

He tilted his head and smiled at me. "You are full of sass and shit."

"You could say. But why care about my thoughts, Sarge?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm starved for conversation out here and you could provide it."

I smiled back at him. If it was stated that there was ever a million dollar smile, this Staff certainly had it. It seemed to soften up the battle-hardened face. "I ain't no one, Staff. Just a Corporal."

"And you're the only female here." He smirked.

"Pardon? There's other females. I mean like Lieutenant Giv..."

"That's officers. Not enlisted. You we can talk to. Officers? Not a snowball's chance in hell." He stopped smiling. "I'm surprised more men ain't talked to you."

"I've got Allan and that's..."

"That the medic you were with the other night?" His voice was abrupt.

"Yeah."

"Be careful. They don't look too kindly on that shit."

"I know, but he's my roommate and best friend." I looked up at the stars again.

"How long you known him?"

"Five years. May I ask why you're interested?" I crossed my arms.

"Just looking for conversation." He huffed.

"Captain Baron's going to be fine."

"Yeah? I hope that fall rattled his brain enough." He smirked.

"Known him long?" I looked at Silas.

"Yeah. He's a good guy. We served together in Somalia and he went from Enlisted to Officer which is why Enlisted men want to serve with him. He knows the shit we have to deal with on a daily basis and not just from Officers either. He's a good man and I'd give my life to defend him." He seemed very adamant concerning the last statement.

I only nodded. I had just met the Captain and hoped that Staff was on point with this one.

* * *

I laughed at Shaver. "You are such an ass!" 

He threw the wrapper at me. "And you can kiss it!"

"In your dreams, pal. In your dreams!" I laughed as I picked up the wrapper. I heard a bustle coming from the front of the tent and knew what that meant. "INCOMING!" I yelled and rushed to the front. A young woman was on the gurney. The Combat Med rattled off her stats and I began to feel like taking a gun and shooting the shit out of the fuckers for laying down IEDs. However, at this point, I needed to concentrate on her. She wasn't so bad off. She was conscious and talking, which was good. We needed to extract whatever information we could from her. "It's okay, Private. Just do your best to relax and we'll get you taken care of."

"What about Stennes?" She yelled.

"Stennes?" I held her hand.

"Yeah. Specialist Kevyn Stennes. He was driving." She yelped in pain as Dr. Hampton removed shrapnel from her thigh. "He okay?"

"I'll see what I can find out." I let go of her hand and ran to the front. "Hey!" I grabbed another medic's arm. "I need to find a Specialist Kevyn Stennes."

One of the young men limping in looked at me. "He was KIA, Corporal. Why do you ask?"

I sighed. Another KIA. Now I know I needed to blow the shit out of this godforsaken country. I ran inside. Private Dana Collins looked at me. I didn't have the heart to tell her. Not yet. I simply told her I was still trying to find out. "Why do you need to know?"

"He's my fiancé." She yelped in more pain as more shrapnel was removed from her leg. "We're supposed to get married when we get back to Bragg."

"I'll find out." I yelled as they wheeled her away to an operating room. I left and made my way outside.

"HEY! You should continue to help." I heard Shaver behind me.

"You're one to speak." I wiped a tear.

"You okay?"

"This young Private we're working on is looking for her fiancé, who was driving the Humvee they were in. He was KIA."

"Shit. That puts a damper on your day, don't it?" He wrapped his arms around me.

"Allan, what would happen if this were to happen to us?"

"What?" He tilted my face up to his.

"One of us dying over here and the other having to hear about it on the evening news."

"That ain't going to happen. You're too beautiful to kill and I'm too much of a bastard to die." He grinned. He softly kissed me. "We'll be fine."

"You promise?"

"On my honor."

"You have no honor." I laughed.

"Okay then. On my cynical bastardly evil ways then." He smiled and pulled me to him, making the cries of the injured nearly disappear.


	5. Just Precautions, Staff

The first six months of our TOD in Iraq passed as they always do: busy days and nights caring for those who were seriously hurt in combat and taking care of those that got hurt horsing around. And unfortunate as it is to say it, being busy with casualties made the days go quick.

Allan and I sat in the lounge tent, watching TV when we heard the sirens screaming. I sat up and sighed. For the first time, Shaver and I were able to cuddle and the goddamned sirens mess it up. I was upset, but as we ran to the hospital tent, I focused on the casualties. The mortars were still coming as Shaver grabbed my hand and led me into a mortar shelter. Just when I thought I got used to mortar rounds going off, there were times, like this attack, that I was scared.

I was thankful Allan was close.

To my left stood the battle hardened Staff Sergeant Chris Silas, murmuring expletives under his breath. He clutched his M-16 as though it were his child he was protecting and stuck his head out a few times. I heard him softly say "Roger that, Sir. Time to kick some ass." He looked around. "Alright men. Listen up. These little fucks think they've got us cornered. Grab your guns and let's go out and kick the holy shit out of these fucking Jihadists!"

I looked at Allan, who only shook his head. After the Sergeant and his men cleared, Shaver looked at me. "That's a case of too much fucking testerone." He smiled. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I don't know why some of these scare me like they do. I thought I'd be used to them by now, you know?" I sighed. We made our way to the hospital tent and helped out. "Shaver!" I yelled.

"What?"

"I need help!" I fought the young man who was flailing his arms about trying to get me off. He was calling me all sorts of names, but Shaver gave him a shot and the young man calmed down. "Thanks."

"Yeah. Don't mention it." Shaver smirked before returning to his patient.

I made my way out of the chaos and ran into Captain Baron. "Sorry, Sir."

"It's okay, Corporal." His gaze seemed distant and his words seemed a little slurred. Remembering our first meeting, I asked if he was okay. "Just a little shell shocked, that's all."

"Let me take a look at you, Sir, just so you don't collapse on my deck again." I smiled.

To my relief, he smiled back. "I'm really fine. It's just that young man in there. The one that was flailing around."

"Yes, Sir?"

"I'm more than a little concerned for him. What's his condition?"

"Right now, Sir, I honestly don't know. We had to sedate him to calm him down enough. Do you know him, Sir?"

"He's my nephew." He looked down at me. "I promised my brother when I took charge of this shithole that I would do what I could to protect Andy." His voice and look became stern as he put his Kevlar back on. "You report directly to me, Corporal Shue, about any changes in his condition. You understand?"

"Yes, Sir." I saluted him and watched him leave, fascinated by him. There was something about him that I could relate to, much like Sergeant Silas had said. Even when Captain Baron was stern, he was approachable. I recognized the sound of the UH 60's landing with more wounded and rushed out to help. I recognized some of the men that had gone out with Sergeant Silas a few hours earlier to fight the rebels and the insurgents who were mortaring us. I ran to one and saw Sergeant Silas, lying on a gurney, swearing at the medics that he was okay. "I'll handle this one. What do you got?"

"A very ornery Staff Sergeant." The medic stated. "He was hit by shrapnel, but you hear..." He was interrupted by one of Silas's swear words. "Yes, Staff. I understand you're fucking okay, but we're going to have the medics here take a closer look at you."

"Goddamned Army." Silas screamed.

"Think you can say that any louder, Staff? I don't think they heard you in New Jersey." I joked back.

"Goddamnit, Shue. I'm fine. I just got a little shrapnel...SHIT! That fucking hurt!"

"Sorry." I smirked playfully. "Gotta give these boys their shit back." I took his vitals. "Well, your blood pressure is high and your pulse is rapid and your breathing, well, that's more like a rabid dog's, so..."

"Stop the bullshit, Shue." He glared.

"Staff, you're not helping. You need to calm down." I lowered my voice.

"What? Calm down? I'm fucking okay and you're telling me that, despite this, I'm still here and I need to calm down."

I pursed my lips. I knew I had a smart-ass reply and I knew what trouble I could get into for talking to a Staff Sergeant that way. "This is just precautionary, Staff."

"This is bullshit is what it is."

"You want bullshit? I'll give you bullshit." I heard Shaver's voice interrupt. "The fact that we're here, doing our job after you've done yours. It's bullshit that we have to clean up after you fucked up. Now, Staff, I understand that you're possibly okay, but the truth is that you're leading young men who look up to you and if they see you acting like this, it's going to affect them and I'm going to have to be the one who tries to save their fucking lives. We want to make sure that the shrapnel didn't do any fucking damage so you can go out and create fucking damage. I suggest that you calm down and relax or I'm going to have to restrain you."

Sergeant Silas glared at Shaver. We both knew the trouble he was bound to be in, but Silas calmed down. "Just get me out as soon as fucking possible."


	6. A Close Call For Silas

I hid a smile. Allan could always seemingly get people to cooperate by mentioning bullshit. I faced the Staff. "Alright, Staff. Let's check you out. Take off the vest."

I could hear him mumbling obscene words as he did. He looked at me. "What?"

"The jacket and the shirt, Staff." I pursed my lips trying to hide my smile.

"You think this is funny, don't you, Corporal?" He glared at me.

"Hey, I took this rating because I knew I could get hot men to take off their clothes for me, Staff." I joked as I smiled. "The shirt please." I snapped my gloves on.

"Jesus." He mumbled under his breath as he took off the brown cotton Army issue t-shirt. I was awestruck by what I saw. "What now? The pants?"

"Where'd you get all those scars?"

"I've been in the Army thirteen years, sweetheart. I've served in Bosnia, Somalia, and RIP. I've been to Afghanistan and this shithole. I'm bound to get some scars." He winced as I checked the newest addition to his collection. "What's the word?"

"Well, looks like the shrapnel barely missed anything." I looked at him. "You're lucky to be alive, Staff. One millimeter to the right and you'd be on your way home in a box."

"How can you tell?" He smarted.

It was my turn to glare at him. "I'm a medic if you haven't noticed yet, Staff. I'll still need to see about some x-rays, but I can promise you that one millimeter to the right and you'd be dead."

"What do we have here?" Captain Helms walked in. She looked at the Staff Sergeant and smiled. She looked at me and, without lowering her voice, stated "And now you know why I decided to join the Army. God bless our Soldiers." She sat across from Staff Sergeant Silas, who was looking uncomfortable. She examined where the shrapnel hit. "We'll run some x-rays, Corporal." She looked at him. "You're one lucky son of a bitch. One millimeter to the right, you'd be dead and that would be a shame. The world's ugly enough out here to lose something so lovely." She stood up and walked out.

I shot him an "I-told-you-so!" grin and he shot me an "Eat-shit!" glare. "I was right on that one, Staff. Going to admit it?"

"Okay, but I don't want that doctor..."

"She means no harm. She wants you guys to relax and honestly Staff, you're the only one who didn't relax around her. I've never seen someone so tense." I escorted him to the x-rays.

"Well, she's close to some sort of harassment." He snorted.

"Just relax. X-rays won't hurt." I prepped him for the x-rays.

"Shue!" I heard Shaver's voice.

"X-raying! Why?"

"Captain Baron's looking for you!"

I heard Silas snort. "What did you do now? Hit on the Captain?"

"For your information, Staff, there is only one man here that I would care to do anything with and that is Corporal Shaver. You make another response like that and I'll make sure we use tiny stitches to close your wound." I winked and walked off, leaving the X-ray technician and Staff Sergeant Silas speechless. I found Captain Baron. "Sir?"

"Any word on my nephew?"

"I haven't had a chance yet, Sir. Some men just came back injured and I had this ornery Staff Sergeant to deal with."

I saw Captain Baron smile. "Silas?"

"How'd you know, Sir?" I walked with him.

"He's an impossible patient. Doesn't like to admit he's hurt because he wants to go and lead the men he's been charged with."

"Well, Sir, he'll do the men no good if he's dead."

Captain Baron stopped. "How close?"

"A millimeter, Sir. We're taking x-rays to confirm that." I faced him. "He's very lucky." I saw Private Heath walk by. "Private!" I yelled.

He turned and faced me. "Yeah?"

"Private Andrew Baron. Any word?"

"He's still in surgery. He's expected to live, though. Apparently whatever hit him, missed all vitals."

"Thanks, Heath." I heard Captain Baron sigh. "It's okay, Sir. We'll let you know the minute he's out of surgery."

He smiled. "Thanks, Corporal. And update me on Scream as soon as possible." He turned.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Corporal?"

"Who's Scream?"

"Staff Sergeant Silas." A loud scream came from the x-rays. Captain Baron smiled. "For apparent reasons."

I watched as Captain Baron walked away. There was something about his demeanor that reminded me of a Duke. He was strong and silent, but could wield great power if he had to. _And_, I thought to myself _the only guy here who gives Allan a run for the money in the looks department, though Silas isn't half bad._ I heard him scream and knew I needed to get back.

"Take it easy, goddamnit! I'm a fucking Soldier not a toy!" Staff Sergeant Silas yelled.

"Sorry, Staff." The young X-Ray Technician shyly apologized.

I crossed my arms and stared at Silas. He looked at me. "What? You want to examine something else?"

"Yeah. Your fucking mind." I pursed my lips, letting him know I was not happy. "You're worse than a child, Scream."

He looked sharply at me. "How the fuck did you know?"

"Like we can't figure it out with the way you howl about like a cat on a fence at midnight." I uncrossed my arms. "Do you think you can hold still so we can examine you? If you're good, I just might give you a lollipop when we're done." I cooed.

"Fuck you." He snapped.

"Sorry, Staff. I'm taken." I turned around. I could hear him screaming at the technician. I found Shaver. "Hey. Think you can help me out?"

"Sounds like it's just a little more than shrapnel in the skin, eh?" He tapped a syringe, sending the air bubbles to the top.

"Yeah. Slightly. Listen, Captain Baron said he was always an impossible patient, but I'm wondering what else happened today. I've talked to this man a lot during the past six months and have never seen him this pissed off."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Shaver smiled.

"We do need to sedate him so we can make sure that there's nothing wrong with him."

Shaver grinned at me. "Other than too much fucking testosterone?"

I playfully punched his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

"I do." He grabbed a needle and some Haloperidol. "Ready to tame the tiger?"

* * *

I checked on Staff Sergeant Silas a couple hours later. He was still sleeping and I sighed. I wrote in the chart and found Captain Baron in the mess tent. "Sir?"

"Ah, Corporal. Any news on either guy?" He motioned for me to sit across from him.

"Yes, Sir. Your nephew is out of surgery and doing well. They have him on some serious morphine, but he will be returning home. They're sending him to Landsthul soon. He lost his left leg and his right eye, but he's lucky to have only lost those." I sighed. "They almost lost him on the table, but Lieutenant Wickes is a world class surgeon and was able to save him."

"Scream?"

"Ah, there's the rub." I leaned forward. "He was combative and we had to give him Haldol, which is a highly potent neuroleptic for hyperactivity and aggression. In his case, we had to give it to him due to his severe combativeness and aggression. Now, I know that this is out of his nature, so I ran some tests to see what could have caused him to be so combative." I sighed. "It was a severe concussion, Sir. He was very lucky to have survived what ever it was that he did."

"Talk to me." Captain Baron leaned forward.

"He had severe bleeding on and swelling of the brain, Sir. That was picked up by Corporal Shaver. We both knew this was more than just a shrapnel in the arm, Sir, and we ran some tests and..."

"How is he?"

"Sleeping. We were able to reduce the swelling and the bleeding and he'll make a full recovery. However, we are recommending he stay at base camp for no less than two weeks, Sir." I sat up.

"That'll kill him." Baron laughed. "But, better he be bored here than dead out there. I'll do what you need me to do."

"Thank you, Sir." I stood up and saluted. "I'll let you know when you can visit."

"Thank you, Corporal." He smiled.

"Anything for you, Sir."

I made my way back to the tent and found Allan out in the back. He looked at me and smiled. "Have I told you that I hate this fucking shit?" He laughed.

I placed my arm in his and rested my head against his arm. "Only every other second." I laughed back. "What a day this has been."

"Good call on the Staff." He adjusted so that his arm was now around my shoulders. "If you hadn't have talked to him enough over these past few months, that would have been missed and he might have been gone."

I placed my arm around his waist. "You're the one that taught me that."

"What?" He took a puff of his cigarette and looked down at me.

"You remember when we were here last year and that young Private came in and he was extremely combative?"

"Yeah. What a son of a..."

"Remember how you kept insisting we run tests to ensure it wasn't a brain injury?"

"And?"

"Remember he died because no one listened to you and they found out later that his brain was swollen and he had massive bleeding on the brain? Well, I remember that and how angry you were at Lieutenant Stevens for not listening to you and when Staff became combative, I knew it wasn't right and something was wrong and I needed to find it."

He turned me to face him. "You are amazing."

"What?" I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed myself close to him.

He leaned down and gently kissed me. "No matter how fucking cynical I get or how fucked up this place is, you always seem to make it just a little better."

"By what? Remembering what you..."

"No. By being you." He smiled. We both snapped to attention when we heard the UH 60s flying in low. "It's why I love you."

He turned to go, but I grabbed his arm. "How long?"

"How long? Since AIT."

I smiled and hugged him. "I love you too."

"How long?"

"Since our first apartment." I smiled. "Hey. It took me a while to get used to your fucking cynical 'this is all fucking bullshit' ways, you know."

He smiled and kissed me softly once more before turning back to the tent. "That's exactly why I'm going to marry you."


	7. 24 Hours

I stood still, not wanting to move. He was going to marry me and we weren't even an official couple yet. I smiled at the thought of marrying him and quickly headed back into work. The tent was filled with traumas coming in left and right. I felt overwhelmed and tired. Just when we cleared one, another one came in behind him. I felt at any moment I was going to collapse when I was relieved.

I made my way to the lounge tent for some unwinding and found Allan already there. He sat on the couch and looked at me as I came in. "Long day?" He smiled.

I laid as best I could in his arms. "You could say that. I don't remember a time when I was this exhausted." I turned awkwardly around to face him. "You really going to marry me or was that a joke?"

"I'm really going to marry you when we get back. I know that it's a little weird as we've never said we were any sort of couple, but I just knew when I met you." He leaned down and kissed me. "Don't ever forget it."

For the first time in a long time, Allan's usual cynical nature was quiet. He fell asleep and I watched him sleep for a while before starting to head off to my bed. I kissed his forehead softly and headed out of the tent. "Corporal!" I heard Captain Mitchell yell.

I turned around. "Sir?"

He returned my salute. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Sir, I've just had a long day and..." He held out his arm. I noticed it was bleeding profusely. "What happened, Sir?"

"Not sure. I just...then...If I could tell you, I would." He seemed a little spacey and I checked him out as much as I could in the moonlight. "Do you think you could help?"

I clamped down on his arm, hoping to stop the bleeding and ran to the tent. "INCOMING!" I yelled. Private Bell helped me get the Captain on a gurney. "I don't know what happened. I don't think he knows." I checked his eyes, which were starting to gloss over. "Shit." I ran out and back to the lounge. I needed help and the only medic I wanted to help was "SHAVER!" I yelled as I ran into the ten. "We need you ASAP at the tent."

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What now?"

"Captain Mitchell. Something happened and no one seems to know. His eyes are glazing over and if I'm going to have help..." I needed to say no more as he was now sprinting to the tent. I ran as best as I could back to the tent, running right into Lieutenant Hunter. "Sorry, Sir." I apologized as I ran back.

"Corporal!" I heard him yell. "You need to show some goddamned respect!"

I stopped and faced him. "I've got respect, Sir, but right now that lies in saving a Captain's life and last I looked, he outranked you and deserves my full attention and respect right now more than you, Sir." I quickly saluted and ran back into the tent.

Shaver was working furiously on Captain Mitchell. He glanced up at me once. "Let's go, Shue. I need blood. He's lost a lot of it."

I ran to get some blood when I ran into Captain Baron. "Sir?"

"I just got news that one of my fellow Captains was in here."

"Sir, it's Captain Mitchell. He's bleeding profusely." I pointed out a folding chair. "If you choose to wait, there's a seat, Sir, but for now, I need to get the man some blood."

Captain Baron nodded in agreement and sat in the chair. "Keep me posted!" He yelled at me.

"As always, Sir!" I yelled back.

A couple hours later, Captain Mitchell was in recovering from surgery. I looked outside and the sun started to rise. I felt the exhaustion overcome my body as I realised I had worked nearly a full 36 hours with a five minute break. I sighed as I found Captain Baron still sitting in the chair. He stood up as I approached him. "How's he doing, Corporal?"

"He's recovering, Sir. We're still trying to figure out what happened." I rolled my head. "Have you visited Staff Sergeant Silas yet?" I rubbed my neck.

"Not yet." He smiled. "Listen, you go get some sleep. You deserve it. You've been working your ass off since you got here." He looked as Shaver walked over to us. "Both of you. You're off duty for 24 hours. Where's the rest of the staff that was here the past couple of days?"

"Probably finishing rounds." Shaver yawned. "But, Sir, this is the life of a medic. We don't get rest."

"You're under orders to, Corporal." The Captain was serious. He saw Dr. Givens walk by. "Lieutenant."

She faced him. "Sir?"

"I want the names of all those who worked the past 36 hours."

"Sir, it was most of the staff."

He sighed. "Starting with these two Corporals, yourself and as many as you can spare are under orders to rest for 24 hours. Those who don't get to now get it when these two and yourself come back in. You tell everyone here. Anyone has any problems, you direct them to me, Lieutenant. This is not an option. You won't see much rest while you're here so take it while you can."

"Yes, Sir. I'll let the staff know right away. Thanks, Sir."

"You got it." He faced me and Shaver. "Why are you two still here? Get some fucking sleep." He smiled.

We saluted him and Allan took my hand. "Shall we?" His eyes were heavy from sleep and I wondered if we'd even make it to our separate tents.

* * *

I fell asleep quickly and couldn't remember the last time I had slept so well in Iraq. I woke up, feeling refreshed, and heard the sounds of men yelling. UH 60s were landing and despite orders, I ran over to see if I could help. Private Henderson looked at me. "Thought you were under orders to take the next 24 hours off."

"Go. You need to get some rest, Henderson. I've got it." I pushed him out of the way. "What do we have?"

"Young male, approximately 24 years old, hit by VBIED. BP is 85 palp and resps are 22. Pulse is 55 and fading fast." The other medic looked at me. "Behind us is the other guard. Shrapnel lodged in his Kevlar."

"Stats?" I ran over to the guard, who was awake and looking around.

The medic pushing the gurney looked at me. "He's strong. BP is 121 palp and resps are WNL as is his pulse. His pupils are slow and unequally reactive, so be on the look out for possible concussion."

We quickly took the young men inside and I nearly laughed at what I saw. Like me, Shaver had decided that 24 hours rest was too much and he was already helping with the first young man. Lieutenant McNalley looked at me. "So much for Captain's orders, huh?" He smiled.

"Yes, Sir. A medic never sleeps." I helped to get the young guard on the bed. "VBIED and while he's well within normal limits, the medics said his pupils were unequal."

"I see that." Lieutenant McNalley moved a light over the young man's eyes. "What's your name, Soldier?"

"Roanoake, Sir."

The words were clear, but half slurred. Lt. McNalley looked at the young man's arms. "Tell me what happened."

"We were standing roadblock duty, Sir, when this VBIED came out of nowhere. We ordered him to stop, telling him we'd use deadly force. He didn't and we did. When the car went off towards the side of the road, it exploded. We lost four men, Sir. But my buddy, Markus, Sir. How's he?"

The young Private winced in pain as we removed his Kevlar. "Sorry." Lt. McNalley said. "We're going to look at this wound. Shit."

"Sir?" The young man's eyes darted around, fear in them.

"You're one hell of a lucky young man. We're going to have to perform surgery to remove not just the shrapnel, but parts of your Kevlar that are imbedded in your skull. Without a doubt, you'll have a headache, but you'll live to fight another day." Lt. McNalley smiled. "Let's move out!"


	8. Intentional Or Not Intentional?

I made my way down the narrow hall and saw Captain Baron leaving the area Staff Sergeant Silas was in. He looked at me. "Corporal!"

"Sir?" I looked at McNalley and shrugged. "Yes, Sir?"

"What happened to 24 hours off?" He crossed his arms.

"Sorry, Sir. When I hear those Hawks and Humvees coming in with the wounded, instinct kicks in."

"Dedicated to the Soldiers, are you?" He smiled.

"Only those who really need help." I heard Sgt. Silas mumble something. "And I guess there's one right now. Excuse me, Sir." I saluted and entered Silas's area. "What do you need?" I asked as I checked his IV.

"I could get in trouble if I told you." His sense of humor returning told me that he was going to be fine.

"I bet I could get it for you, if you really want it that bad. I know a few females here that would be more than happy to oblige." I winked.

"You ever afraid your sass and shit's going to get you in trouble?" He looked up at me as I took his blood pressure.

"No. I don't use my sass and shit until I know that person well enough to do." I took my light and ran it over his eyes. "How you feeling? Headache?"

"Yeah. It's pretty bad." He closed his eyes.

"Well, that will be around a while. You took a really good knock on the noggin." I checked his wounds. "But, you're fine."

"What happened?" He looked at me, curiosity in his eyes.

"You were extremely combative and aggressive yesterday and we had to give you Haldol to calm you down. We ran tests and found that you had hit your head so hard that it was starting to swell and there was bleeding."

"Shit." He murmured.

"Yeah. Some people lose consciousness when they get knocked around hard like that. Guess you're a hard headed son of a bitch that had to become aggressive." I smiled.

"I'm a little more than hard headed, sweetheart." He winked.

"Yeah, well, you take care of that yourself. I've got a critical patient to check on." I smiled and walked out. "Captain Baron?"

"Corporal. He's doing well, I see."

"Yes, Sir. His sense of humor has come back."

"Scream and a sense of humor. Now that's like vinegar and water." He laughed. "I've served with Sgt. Scream for quite a few years now. He's never been known for being funny, though he does have his moments. He's a Soldier to the very core of his being. No one knows what he'd be doing if he wasn't one. There are people born to kill and Scream's one of them." He nodded. "Corporal."

I found Captain Mitchell still sleeping. It had been a hard night trying to figure out what happened. He had been spacey and loopy and had massive bleeding on his right forearm, but we found no evidence of a bite, a slice, or shrapnel. It had become a mystery. I carefully checked his vitals and watched him for a moment, hoping that if I stood there long enough, the answers would come.

"Nothing?" Shaver's voice was quiet. "No reason on why?"

I shook my head. "It's one of those weird things you see in the movies or on TV and you never think it's possible." I checked Captain Mitchell's IV. "Something happened and there's no telling what it was. I mean, what could have caused him to become so..." I suddenly turned around.

"What?" Shaver looked intently at me.

I picked up Captain Mitchell's arm. "Shaver, if you look closely, it looks like he was gnawed on by a camel spider."

"Still doesn't explain the loopiness."

"Of course it does." I looked at Allan. "Not all this is from a camel spider. Looks like he tried to take care of it himself. Remember he was bleeding profusely?" Allan nodded. "In trying to take care of it himself, he did more damage and lost blood. That would explain the loopiness and the complete spacey attitude and why he wouldn't tell us what happened." I put his arm back down. "What do you think?"

"I think you're wrong. Camel spiders don't pose a threat to humans."

"If they're handled, they do. Look." I pointed out the telltale ragged edges of the cut. "Looks like he found one and handled it. It may have clamped down and he freaked out and try to pull it off."

"Come on, LiLi. He's a Captain." Shaver crossed his arms. "He would have known better."

"True, but looks to me as though Captain Mitchell's a very inquisitive Captain."

"A Captain nonetheless."

I looked at Allan. "And how many do you know that have functioning brains, Lan?"

He laughed. "The more we're here, the more you sound like me."

I smiled back. "That's the only explanation I can come up with, Allan. There's plenty of tell tale signs that he handled a camel spider and it bit down pretty hard. But yet at the same time, it doesn't look like anything a camel spider can do."

"But you don't believe all the myths and legends, do you?"

"Of course not, but Lan, what else could have caused this ragged edge and made him bleed? What else could have hit him so hard that it would have made him spacey and cause this much blood loss?"

Allan came over and took a good look at the wound. "LiLi, do we know of anything else that could do something like this that isn't nature?"

"What are you leading to, Allan?" I leaned in.

"Well, from what I see, it looks like some sort of explosive device, but I don't remember hearing an explosion."

"So the mystery deepens." I wrote something down in Capt. Mitchell's chart and left. "Without an explosion and the wound not really looking like a camel spider bite. What did he do?"

Allan just shrugged. "We'll find out sooner or later, I'm sure."

* * *

I went in and checked one last time on Sgt. Scream before releasing him to Capt. Baron. I laughed as I walked in. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Don't interrupt. I'm winning." Shaver smiled.

"I thought real men played poker, not 'Go Fish'." I laughed.

Silas looked at me. "When there's time for poker, we'll play poker." He looked at me. "I'll wager you could play poker with the best of them."

"She's only good at strip poker, Sergeant." Allan winked.

Sergeant Silas smiled. "I'm not even going to ask." He looked at Allan. "Come on. I know you've got a four of hearts."

I laughed in spite of myself. I knew Allan was big on being silly, but Staff Sergeant Silas struck me as the serious sort. Almost as if he didn't know what it meant to laugh, yet here he was playing GO FISH with Shaver. Shaver could make GO FISH fun. "Be careful, Staff. Shaver knows a thing or two about GO FISH."

"What do you mean?"

"He also taught me how to play strip GO FISH." I winked. Allan looked up at me and grimaced. He had meant it as a joke and never thought I'd turn it around on him. I smiled back at him. "But, don't worry. I don't think he's ready to teach you quite yet." I dodged a playful smack from Shaver.

"What's all this hootin' and hollerin'?" Captain Baron's soft voice bellowed.

"Just having some fun, Sir." Silas smiled.

"Fun? In this shithole?" Captain Baron smiled. "Never thought it possible." He looked at me. "A word, Corporal?"

"Yes, Sir."

I followed him out of the room. He looked at me. "What's the news on my nephew?"

"I haven't checked on him yet today, Sir, but he's my next patient if you want to come along."

Captain Baron nodded and followed me. "See Scream's playing GO FISH."

"Yes, Sir. I know. Kinda funny." I entered into a smaller room, welcoming the cool air.

"Kind of? I'd say it's all out hysterical." He looked at the young man, still sleeping and took his hand. "What's the word here?"

I looked at his charts. "Well, Sir. Looks like despite what he endured, he'll be fine. They have him heavily sedated for the pain, but he'll live to fight again." I smiled.

"As long as he's okay." I thought I saw Captain Baron's features soften as he looked at his nephew. He quickly snapped up and looked at me. "What of Captain Mitchell?"

"See, Sir, there's the mystery. He's going to be fine and he's going to live, but as to what caused the wound, we're really not sure. It could be any number of things, but we're really not narrowing anything down."

"What's the wound look like?"

"Sir, it's got the tell tale rugged edge of a Camel Spider bite, but they only bite when improperly handled. But, the same time, Sir, it looks like some sort of explosives wound, but no one remembers hearing an explosion." I sighed deeply and looked at Captain Baron. "The only other thing I can think of, Sir, is that he inflicted the wound himself."

Captain Baron looked at me. "Excuse me, Corporal?" By the tone of his voice, I knew I had just said something I shouldn't have.

I sighed as I looked around. "Sir, when he approached me, he was spacey to say the least and bleeding horribly. He couldn't remember, or wouldn't remember, how he got that wound. Sir, you're the only one I have shared this with. I hate to think that he would intentionally do it, Sir, and I would like nothing more than to believe he wouldn't and didn't, but I have to go by facts, Captain Baron, no matter how much they bother me." I kept my voice low.

Captain Baron sighed heavily. "Do you know what would happen if someone found out that it was _possibly_ intentional?"

"Sir, I do. He's a good Officer and I want this to be anything but intentional."


	9. Staff Sergeant Adonis

Captain Baron looked intently at me. "Once you know, Corporal, you are to tell me." He left abruptly.

I knew what shit could happen if Captain Mitchell had intentionally hurt himself. I knew I couldn't speculate to anyone other than Captain Baron. I sighed as I left to check on Captain Mitchell again. I didn't want to admit that he could hurt himself. I had gotten to know Captain Mitchell pretty well during the previous six months and couldn't believe he'd do that. I made my way to his room and stood looking at him. It was hard to believe that this guy was the quiet Captain from six months prior. His crystal eyes were now closed and his breathing more labored than it should be. His heart monitor showed his heart was beating at a normal pace.

As I was adjusting his meds, I felt Allan wrap his arms around me. "You doing okay?" He kissed my cheek.

"I'm doing fine. I'm just trying to figure out what happened." I leaned back into him. "I just wish I knew. It's..."

"I know." The past couple of days had seemingly turned Allan soft and when I teased him about it, his answer was short and simple. "When you see death, it makes you realise it could be you." Still, he held on to his cynical side when continuing the sentence. "And there are days you wish it were you when you see this shit."

Still, when it came to us, he was soft and almost uncynical. I don't know what had snapped and wasn't sure if I liked that there wasn't a lot of cynical comebacks anymore. "You okay, Lan? You don't seem like yourself today."

"That's cause I lost GO FISH to Sergeant Silas." He placed his chin on my shoulder. "I lost because some woman came in and started flirting with Sergeant."

"I was flirting with you." I moved out of his arms and looked at him.

"No, after you. God, she was gorgeous too! Tits that you could sleep on and if you were on the Titanic with her, you wouldn't have to worry about drowning." I playfully slapped his arm. "That's abuse." He winked. "But, she flirted up and down with Silas, making me think I had a chance to win, but NO!" He laughed. "He had to impress her with his GO FISH skills."

"A trait that is desirable in every man." I grabbed Captain Mitchell's chart. "Of course, it would be fun to play strip GO FISH again." I winked.

"Too bad there's no place to play it here." We walked out the back. "Unless of course we could use a portashit." He nudged me.

It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. "You're kidding, right?"

He took my arm and ran to an empty one, closing the door behind him. "As long as no one knocks it over." He leaned down and gave me a small kiss before laughing. "Jesus! It smells like shit in here!" I laughed as he quickly opened the door, sending me out first and landing on top of me. He helped me to my feet amid the cheers and clapping from our fellow Soldiers.

I dusted myself off and quickly looked around for a hole to bury myself in. I looked at Allan, and for the first time in the five years of knowing him, he was blushing. He murmured he was sorry. "For what?"

He looked at me. "You know what's going to happen now, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." I looked overhead and saw the Hawks coming in for a landing. "We've got work to do." I quickly kissed him.

The casualties seemed endless and they ranged in superficial to KIA. Despite my two tours in Iraq, this was the worst I had seen it. Allan and I had been in Iraq as part of the original invasion, but still, nothing like this. This one young man that came in, though he was awake, wasn't really there. He had been hit by and IED and watched two of his friends die on impact. The will to live was his alone and as I looked him over, I began to wonder if that will was there.

Allan worked seamlessly and without remark. He watched as two young men died on the table he was working at. It didn't seem to impact him as he moved on to the next. There were days I really thought Allan was a robot.

After the last casualty was taken care of, I went to the mess tent. As I sat down to eat, I noticed Staff Sergeant Silas walking towards me. "Staff." I said as he sat down.

"Corporal." He had a hint of a grin. "Listen, I don't want you to tell my men you saw me playing" he lowered his voice "GO FISH. I mean, I have this reputation to uphold." He never stopped grinning.

"Yeah, well I never knew that GO FISH could be used to impress a woman." I smiled back. "Maybe that's what makes Allan so goddamned irresistible. He knows how to play a mean game of GO FISH." I laughed.

To my surprise, Sgt. Silas was laughing as well. "After the hit that I took, poker was a little too much for me. We started to play, but I kept spacing, so GO FISH it was."

"Wait. You any good at WAR?"

He looked at me. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Well, we'll have to have a go at it sometime then, Staff." I smiled. Allan sat next to me. "Allan's pretty good at that game too."

"Did he teach you how to play it strip?" Staff's grin was now crooked on his face.

Allan was a little annoyed by this comment. "What's with the grin, Staff?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing my fucking ass, Staff. That was..."

Staff Silas picked up his tray. "Jesus, Shaver. I never thought you to not be able to take a goddamned joke." He walked away.

This time I was annoyed by Allan. I looked at him. "What's your deal?"

"He's hitting on you." Allan took a swig of water.

"So?"

"He's a Staff Sergeant."

"Big fucking deal, Shaver." I sighed. "Look, there's no guy here that could possibly hold a candle to you. If you're worried, don't." I turned his face towards me. "I love YOU and it's not like other guys haven't hit on me before."

"I've never felt threatened by them before." Allan's voice was soft.

"You're threatened by Silas?" I was shocked.

"Yeah, well. Look at him. He's the type of Adonis straight men would go gay for and that gay women would go straight for. I know you'll never, but shit, LiLi. This isn't like Davies hitting on you. That Staff Sergeant could kick my ass so hard, my great grandchildren's great grandchildren's great grandchildren would feel it."

I laughed quietly at Allan's insecurity. I kissed his cheek. "You have nothing to fear. Adonis is in the eyes of the beholder, right?"


	10. So Close Yet So Far Away

I felt Allan sit next to me on the couch. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I turned the T.V. off.

"Being an asshole."

I looked at him. "You're an idiot is what you are."

"It's not often I get a girl like you and then have Adonis fucking come and..." His words were cut off by my kiss.

I pulled away and looked at him. "I love that you're an asshole." I laughed. "It's why you get shit done. People respond to you and they listen to you and, believe it or not, there are a lot of medics who want you there when they go out and pick up the shit the Calvary messes up. You're an asshole, but you're an even better medic. And," I kissed him once more. "The world's best fucking kisser."

He smiled his usual cynical smile at me. "I just wish I could get you out of this fucking hellhole. I mean, how many flowers bloom in the desert?" I laughed. "What?"

"I want your cynicism back, Lan! Enough fucking poetry. You already have me and you sure as hell ain't going to lose me to an Adonis like Staff Sergeant who's full of himself."

"Well, shit then." He leaned over and kissed me, his hands exploring every inch of my body. I was afraid of being caught, but that also turned me on a little more and I tugged at his shirt. "Shit." Allan raised his head and then lowered it back on my shoulder. "Fucking Hawks." He stood up and tucked his shirt in. "Well, you ready to try to save some more lives?"

I smiled. "Of course. A medic never sleeps or fucks, right?"

"Well, we get some sleep, but shit. Fucking? I can't remember the last time I got laid." He laughed. "Let's go."

The ER was a little quiet, so I made my way back to check on Captain Mitchell. Ever since his admission, no one knew what was wrong or what happened. I made sure he was on the next flight to Landsthul with Andrew Baron and I went to find our Commanding Officer. I found him in his tent. "Sir?"

"Ah, Corporal. Any news?"

"Both men will be on their way to Landsthul at nightfall, Sir."

"Good." The tent flap lifted again. "Keep me informed. Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir." I stood up and saw Silas standing in the flap. "Staff."

"Corporal." He smiled. As I walked away, I heard him say "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

* * *

"It fucking hurts!" The young Private on the gurney yelled.

"I know, but it'll hurt worse if you don't stop moving!" Allan yelled back.

"Stop the pain!"

I didn't hear it, but I knew just by looking at Allan's face he had heaved a big sigh. "Then let's fucking take the goddamned leg."

I tried to stifle a smile because I knew Shaver well enough to know that he was trying to use some sort of psychology on the young man. I couldn't stifle it any longer when the young man agreed to do his best to stop moving. The Sergeant I was working on looked up at me. "Corporal."

I looked down at him as I prepared to give him a shot. "Sergeant?"

"That guy's an asshole."

I smiled. "Yes, Sergeant, but I guarantee you there's no other Medic who's better at his job than Corporal Shaver." I gave him the shot of morphine. "Let's move him!" I yelled. We wheeled the Sergeant into surgery and I went back out to help in the ER.

The ER was full of young men who had just been hit by a roadside bomb and a few who'd been hurt by fooling around. While Allan and a couple other medics handled the severe casualties, I assisted in the minor, superficial casualties. Again, in front of me sat Staff Sergeant Chris Silas. I laughed. "What now? You decide to cheat at strip poker?"

He laughed back. "No. I, uh..." There was this look of embarrassment in his eyes.

I stopped laughing. "Okay, Staff. Look at me and tell me what's wrong."

He heaved a sigh and stretched out his arm. "I cut it on the Captain's desk." I fought back laughing at him. He sensed this and glared at me. "You think this is funny?"

"No, Staff. I don't."

"Then stop laughing."

"I think it's hilarious." I avoided his glare. "Should we go and arrest the Captain's desk for destruction of government property?"

"This isn't funny, Corporal." His voice, though stern, was light.

"I mean, I've seen the Captain's desk and..." I looked at him and before I could stop myself I blurted "But where you'd get cut would me you'd be in a very precarious position and I..." His glare stopped me. "I'm sorry, Staff. I know I shouldn't pick fun, but I know exactly what you could've cut yourself on and it's not an easy reach."

"He dropped something." His voice lost its lightness.

I decided to keep my mouth shut on this one. I just smiled and put a triangle band-aid over the cut. "I'll take your word for it, Staff."

"Thank you, Corporal." He huffed as he left.

The work seemed to die down quickly and Allan and I found ourselves in the back of a transport truck, looking at the stars. I placed my head on his lap and sighed. Even though we were in the middle of a war zone, I felt safe and content right there with Allan rubbing my arm. I felt as though nothing could hurt me. "LiLi?"

"Yes, Allan?" I sighed.

"What are you thinking right now?"

"I'm not."

"You're sighing. That means you're thinking or daydreaming."

I rolled over and looked up at him. "You."

"What about me?"

"How you handled that kid today. You threatened to take his leg and he stops wiggling."

Allan smiled. "He wanted the pain gone."

"What was wrong with him?"

"Fracture. Nothing to justify taking his leg, but I would have to get him to shut the fuck up." He smiled.

I sat up and straddled his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're one hell of an asshole, you know that?" I smiled.

He pulled me so close to him that a part of me wondered where he began and I ended. I felt his breathing intensify slightly as he placed his lips on mine. As I kissed him back, I knew exactly what was going to happen and I quickly prayed that we wouldn't get caught.

* * *

I caught Staff Silas in the chow a couple days later. "How's the arm?"

He jokingly glared at me. "It hurts."

"Still bleeding?"

"No."

"What did Captain Baron drop?" I tried to keep the smile off my face. I had ideas, but they were thoughts that could get a harassment charge on me.

Staff Silas looked for a table and then back at me. "My orders."

"Bullshit."

He stopped and looked at me. "Seriously. Can't tell you anymore than that."

"Where's he sending you?" I sat in front of him.

"That's classified." He saw Allan heading our way. "Here comes your boyfriend."

"Sergeant." Allan didn't seem too cold this meeting, a fact that Scream didn't ignore.

"Maybe you oughta look at him. I think he's sick." He smiled.

Surprisingly, Allan smiled back. "Yeah. I am sick. Sick of this fucking place."


End file.
